| We had crossed the border
early because we wanted to visit friends and pick up some mail. We had to
wait a few days for them to be free so we camped at Bellingham. This is a
view of Mount Baker from the campsite. At 10778ft, it is the third highest
peak in Washington state and the second most active volcano. It is also one
of the snowiest places on earth with an annual snowfall of 95ft. |  |
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We liked Bellingham and with flowers like these all along the harbour, one
could be tempted to take up jogging. |
| The harbour is full of
small boats. Ferries aand cruise ships also depart from here to go up to Alaska but we didn't
see one. |  |
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We stayed for several days and washed and cleaned the RV preparatory to it
going in to store. On the 27th we moved on to Lynnwood about 100 miles
closer to Seattle and only 30 miles from the airport. We passed this strarge
shaped building outside a disused warehouse on the dockside as we left. |
| We put the RV into store
at a local dealer and they dropped us at Seattle airport for our flight
home. This is an Eaglerock, one of the first post WWI civilian aircraft from
the late 1920s. |  |
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This is a model of the 'Voyager' which in 1986 made the first
circumnavigation of the world non-stop. It had two pilots and took nine days |
| More conventional
aircraft. Southwest is a major US low cost airline with a major hub in
Seattle. I've seen buses stop for longer! |  |
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Seattle is also home to Alaska Airlines. Not really surprising with Boeing
just up the road. |
| Our plane! In comparison
with the other aircraft the 747-400 is huge. It took less than three hours
to turn this round despite having a full passenger load. |  |
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Quite a few Canadian airlines fly in here. They are quite colourful but not
as spectacular as Hawaiian ones. |
| On takeoff you are
quickly able to spot the mountains. This is probably Mount Rainier at
14411ft and only 57 miles to the south. |  |
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Even though we quickly get up to 30000ft as we head across the Cascades
towards Calgary, the mountains seem to be reaching for us. |
| When you see terrain like
this, you understand why there are so few roads. |  |
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I think in Washington State 90% of the population lives within 10 miles of
the I5 interstate and most of British Columbia lives in Vancouver. |
| It's a long flight over
Canada, Greenland and the Atlantic and we finally approach Heathrow on time
almost 10 hours later. Much better than last year when we were almost 30
hours late. This is the Millenium Dome. |  |
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This must be pretty close to London City centre. Apart from the scale it is
much like many other large cities although the streets do look rather
typically English. |
| At over 200 mph and only
a few thousand feet the ground passes quickly. These are the greenhouses at
Kew Gardens. |  |
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Almost at touchdown. we are now only a couple of miles from landing. |
| I'm fascinated by the
complexity of wings particularly at landing with all the flaps and airbrakes
in operation. |  |
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The control tower at Heathrow, the busiest hub in the world. |
| BA 747s lining up like
ducks at Terminal 5. |  |
We have a short flight to Bordeaux on Sunday from Luton about 40 miles to the
north of here, then we will be home. But we will be back again next year. Hope
you enjoyed the tour as much as we did. |